US3981441A - Counters - Google Patents

Counters Download PDF

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Publication number
US3981441A
US3981441A US05/580,721 US58072175A US3981441A US 3981441 A US3981441 A US 3981441A US 58072175 A US58072175 A US 58072175A US 3981441 A US3981441 A US 3981441A
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
discs
disc
abutment
collar
rotation
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US05/580,721
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English (en)
Inventor
John Benjamin Leslie Walters
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Lucas Electrical Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Lucas Electrical Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Lucas Electrical Co Ltd filed Critical Lucas Electrical Co Ltd
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3981441A publication Critical patent/US3981441A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06M—COUNTING MECHANISMS; COUNTING OF OBJECTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06M1/00—Design features of general application
    • G06M1/28—Design features of general application for zeroising or setting to a particular value
    • G06M1/34—Design features of general application for zeroising or setting to a particular value using reset shafts
    • G06M1/343—Design features of general application for zeroising or setting to a particular value using reset shafts with drums
    • G—PHYSICS
    • G06—COMPUTING OR CALCULATING; COUNTING
    • G06M—COUNTING MECHANISMS; COUNTING OF OBJECTS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • G06M1/00—Design features of general application
    • G06M1/14—Design features of general application for transferring a condition from one stage to a higher stage
    • G06M1/143—Design features of general application for transferring a condition from one stage to a higher stage with drums

Definitions

  • a counter comprising a body, a set of co-axially disposed discs each having a plurality of numerals around the periphery thereof, a window in the body for displaying a numeral on each disc, friction drive means for frictionally rotating the discs, a rotary counting member for operating the friction drive means in a counting direction, a reset member for operating the frictional drive means in a reset direction, a plurality of first abutment means on each disc of the set except for one of the discs at one end of the set, the first abutment means being located between adjacent numerals on each disc, resilient stop means adapted to engage said first abutment means to prevent rotation of each disc of the set, except for the said one of the discs, in the counting direction but to allow rotation of said discs in the opposite or reset direction, a second abutment means on each disc
  • each stop means is attached through the intermediary of a spring blade with the body, said spring blade overlying the resilient detent means of an adjacent disc so that riding movement of the detent means over its respective second abutment causes it to engage the spring blade and move the respective stop means out of engagement with one of the first abutment means.
  • each stop means is urged against a rim of its associated disc by its respective spring blade.
  • Each stop means engages a portion of its associated rim which carries the first abutment means, and each spring blade engages a portion of its associated rim which carries the second abutment means.
  • resilient detent means including a flange carrying a series of four spring blades.
  • the flange is mounted on the shell portion of the counter, in the same position as the flange of the resilient stop assembly, so that the spring blades of the resilient detent means are each disposed between a respective spring blade of the resilient stop assembly and its associated disc.
  • the ends of the spring blades of the resilient detent means rest against respective portions of the rims of the discs on which are disposed the second abutments, and point in a direction opposite to that in which the stop means point.
  • each stop means is mounted on a respective spring blade which is attached to the body, and each resilient detent means is mounted on the spring blade on which is mounted the stop means of an adjacent disc, the arrangement being such that riding movement of the detent means over its respective second abutment causes it to move the respective stop means out of engagement with one of the first abutment means.
  • a counter as claimed in claim 7 of U.S. Pat. No. 3,824,389, wherein the orbital gear arrangement includes a further collar disposed between the body and said collar, said further collar having outwardly directed projections thereon, and an abutment portion mounted on a resilient arm, said resilient arm being attached to the body of the counter, said abutment portion being arranged to engage the projections on the further collar so as to prevent rotation of the further collar when said rotary counting member is rotated in the counting direction and to allow rotation thereof when said reset member is rotated in the reset direction.
  • FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a counter according to the present invention
  • FIG. 2 is an end view of one of the discs of the counter shown in FIG. 1,
  • FIG. 3 is a side view of the disc shown in FIG. 2,
  • FIG. 4 is a plan view of a resilient retaining element, including resilient stop members and resilient retaining members, for use in the counter of FIG. 1,
  • FIG. 5 is a section through the resilient retaining member if FIG. 4 taken along the line A--A and
  • FIG. 6 is a section through the resilient retaining member of FIG. 4 taken along the line B--B.
  • the counter shown in the drawings is designed to be used on a bicycle or a stationary exercise machine simulating a bicycle to indicate a distance travelled by a user of the machine, notionaly or otherwise.
  • the counter comprises a composite body 10 formed of a top shell portion 11 and a bottom shell portion 12.
  • a shaft 13 passes through the body 10 and freely mounts a star wheel 14, forming a counting drive, at one end thereof.
  • the other end of the shaft freely mounts a rotatable reset wheel 15.
  • the star wheel 14 and reset wheel 15 are provided with integral sleeves 16 and 17, respectively, which extend into the body 10 and are mounted on the shaft 13 to be rotatable thereon.
  • a set of four discs 18, 19, 20 and 21 which are rotatable relative to the sleeve 17 but which can be frictionally driven thereby through the intermediary of drive plates 22, 23 and 24 keyed into a plurality of keyways 25 (only one shown) in the sleeve 17 and interleaved with the discs 18, 19, 20 and 21.
  • the other face of the collar 26 is engaged with one end of a spring 27 whose other end is engaged with a second collar 28 mounted on the sleeve 16 and abutting the body 10.
  • the spring 27 provides the necessary axial force to enable friction drive of discs 18 to 21.
  • the collar 26 is provided with a ring of inwardly directed teeth 26a which lie on a pitch circle whose center coincides with the axis of shaft 13.
  • the sleeve 16 eccentrically mounts an annular member 50 for rotation relative thereto.
  • the annular member 50 has two rings of outwardly directed teeth 51 and 52 engaging respectively with the teeth 26a on collar 26 and an inwardly directed ring of teeth 28a on collar 28.
  • the rings of teeth 51 and 52 lie on respective larger and smaller pitch circles whose common axis is offset from the axis of shaft 13.
  • the ring of teeth 28a lie on a pitch circle whose center lies on the axis of the shaft 13.
  • the collar 28 is provided on an outwardly directed face thereof with circumferentially spaced, integral chamferred projections 53 (only two shown).
  • a resilient retaining element 29 Attached to the bottom shell portion 12 is a resilient retaining element 29, which will be described in greater detail at a later stage, and which is shown in detail in FIGS. 4 to 6.
  • the resilient retaining element 29 is provided with a resilient arm 30 mounting an abutment portion 30a thereon.
  • the abutment portion 30a is disposed in the path of movement of the projections 53 on the collar 28, as will be described further hereinafter.
  • the discs 18, 19, 20 and 21 can be rotated in a counting direction by rotation of the star wheel 14 and can be rotated in an opposite or re-set direction by rotation of the re-set wheel 15. Due to the frictional nature of the drive, it will be manifest that any one of the discs can be prevented from rotating, by holding it against rotation, without affecting the movement of the other discs.
  • each of the discs 18, 19, 20 and 21 are identical and comprise a peripheral rim 31 around which the numerals 0 to 9 are marked. Between each numeral there is provided a first abutment 32 which projects from the rim 31 and extends half-way thereacross. A second abutment 33 is formed as an extension of the first abutment 32 which is disposed between the numerals 4 and 5. It is to be noted that the arrangement of the second abutment 33 is such that when it is disposed adjacent the resilient retaining element 29 as will be described hereinafter, the numeral 0 appears in a window 34 in the top shell portion 11, the window 34 being covered by a lens 35.
  • the resilient retaining element 29 includes a flange 36 which is mounted on the bottom shell portion 12.
  • the flange 36 has integrally attached thereto a series of four spring blades 37, 38, 39 and 40.
  • a series of three stops 41, 42 and 43 are integrally mounted on intermediate portions of the blades 38, 39 and 40 respectively, and are offset to one side thereof.
  • Each stop 41, 42, 43 is provided with an abutment surface 48.
  • the stops 41, 42 and 43 are urged by the spring blades 38, 39 and 40 respectively against the rims 31 of respective discs 18, 19 and 20.
  • a series of four detent members 44, 45, 46 and 47 are integrally mounted on the free ends of spring blades 37, 38, 39 and 40 respectively.
  • Each detent member 44, 45, 46, 47 is provided with an abutment surface 49.
  • the detent members 45, 46 and 47 are each offset to a side of the respective spring blade 38, 39, 40 which is opposed to the side thereof on which the respective stop 41, 42, 43 is mounted.
  • the detent members 44, 45, 46 and 47 are urged by the spring blades 37, 38, 39 and 40 respectively against the rims 31 of respective discs 18, 19, 20 and 21.
  • the resilient retaining element 29 is arranged such that each of the stops 41, 42 and 43 engages that portion of the rim 31 of its respective disc 18, 19, 20 which carries the first abutments 32, and each of the detent members 44, 45, 46 and 47 engages that portion of the rim 31 of the adjacent disc 18, 19, 20 and 21 respectively which carries the second abutment 33.
  • the spring blades 37, 38, 39 and 40 project sufficiently far beyond their respective discs 18, 19, 20 and 21 that the detent members 44, 45, 46 and 47 present an inclined surface to the second abutments 33 on the discs 18, 19, 20 and 21 respectively during rotation thereof in a counting direction. It will be manifest from the above description that each detent member is mounted on the same blade as the stop associated with the adjacent disc.
  • each stop 41, 42, 43 and the abutment surface 49 of the respective detent member 44, 45, 46 on the adjacent spring blade 38, 39, 40 respectively are spaced longitudinally of the spring blades by an amount which is sufficient to allow the second abutment 33 and the first abutment 32 integral therewith on the respective disc 18, 19, 20 to be accommodated therebetween.
  • the counter is mounted on the exercise machine or the bicycle (not shown) and is arranged so that the star wheel 14 is driven be pedals of the machine or by a wheel of the bicycle, as the case may be.
  • Rotation of the star wheel 14 in the counting direction causes rotation of collar 26 through the intermediary of annular member 50 whose teeth 51 and 52 are respectively engaged with teeth 26a on collar 26 and teeth 28a on collar 28.
  • the collar 28 is restrained against rotation by abutment of one of its projections 53 against abutment portion 30a on the arm 30 of the resilient retaining assembly 29.
  • Abutting surfaces of the projection 53 and the abutment portion 30a are so arranged that the force required to cause the abutment portion 30a to ride over the projection 53 is greater than frictional forces between the discs 18, 19, 20, 21 and collar 26. Thus, the collar 28 is held against rotation rather than the collar 26.
  • the discs 18, 19 and 20 thus remain in positions in which the numerals zero appear in the window 34.
  • the numeral 9 on the disc 21 passes the window 34, the second abutment 33 on the disc 21 passes under the detent member 47. This causes lifting of the detent member 47, so as to ride over the second abutment 33, thereby lifting the spring blade 40 carrying the stop 43, so that the stop 43 is no longer engaged with its first abutment 32 on the disc 20.
  • the disc 20 is thus permitted to rotate but rotation stops when the detent member 47 has ridden over the second abutment 33 on the disc 21 and has flexed back into its original position, thereby causing the spring blade 40 to flex back also to bring the stop 43 into a position in which it is engaged by the next first abutment 32 on the disc 20 so that the numeral 1 thereon appears and remains in the window 34.
  • a similar operation occurs at the end of the next complete revolution of disc 21 so that the numeral 2 on the disc 20 appears in the window 34. This action continues until the numeral 9 on disc 20 is just passing out of the window 34. In this position, the detent member 47 lifted by the second abutment 33 on the disc 20, causes the spring blade 39 to flex.
  • the first abutments 32 on the discs 18, 19 and 20 pass under the stops 41, 42 and 43 respectively, which, in this direction of rotation, do not prevent rotation of the disc but merely ride over the first abutment 32.
  • the detent members 44, 45, 46 and 47 are directed so as to prevent rotation of the disc 18, 19, 20 and 21 when the second abutments 33 are engaged with the abutment surfaces 49 thereof.
  • the discs 18, 19 20 and 21 come to rest when the numerals zero appear in the window 34.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Theoretical Computer Science (AREA)
  • A Measuring Device Byusing Mechanical Method (AREA)
  • Measuring Volume Flow (AREA)
  • Structures Of Non-Positive Displacement Pumps (AREA)
  • Pile Receivers (AREA)
  • Sheet Holders (AREA)
  • Basic Packing Technique (AREA)
US05/580,721 1974-06-14 1975-05-27 Counters Expired - Lifetime US3981441A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
UK26435/74 1974-06-14
GB26435/74A GB1489926A (en) 1974-06-14 1974-06-14 Counters

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US3981441A true US3981441A (en) 1976-09-21

Family

ID=10243575

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US05/580,721 Expired - Lifetime US3981441A (en) 1974-06-14 1975-05-27 Counters

Country Status (7)

Country Link
US (1) US3981441A (enExample)
JP (2) JPS5130472A (enExample)
DE (1) DE2526011C3 (enExample)
ES (1) ES438573A2 (enExample)
FR (1) FR2274978A2 (enExample)
GB (1) GB1489926A (enExample)
IT (1) IT1050670B (enExample)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4185188A (en) * 1978-09-28 1980-01-22 Bowmar Instrument Corporation Internal pinion revolution counter and method of assembling the same
US4829164A (en) * 1987-11-02 1989-05-09 Western Pacific Industries Inc. Counter
US6661126B2 (en) * 2000-08-16 2003-12-09 Ina-Schaeffler Kg Linear guide
CN108412286A (zh) * 2018-05-04 2018-08-17 深圳市华海科技研发有限公司 记位器

Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2061927A5 (enExample) * 1969-10-01 1971-06-25 Taupin Marc
FR2204826A1 (enExample) * 1972-10-26 1974-05-24 Calor Sa
US3824389A (en) * 1972-06-24 1974-07-16 Lucas Electrical Co Ltd Counters

Patent Citations (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR2061927A5 (enExample) * 1969-10-01 1971-06-25 Taupin Marc
US3824389A (en) * 1972-06-24 1974-07-16 Lucas Electrical Co Ltd Counters
FR2204826A1 (enExample) * 1972-10-26 1974-05-24 Calor Sa

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4185188A (en) * 1978-09-28 1980-01-22 Bowmar Instrument Corporation Internal pinion revolution counter and method of assembling the same
US4829164A (en) * 1987-11-02 1989-05-09 Western Pacific Industries Inc. Counter
US6661126B2 (en) * 2000-08-16 2003-12-09 Ina-Schaeffler Kg Linear guide
CN108412286A (zh) * 2018-05-04 2018-08-17 深圳市华海科技研发有限公司 记位器

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
IT1050670B (it) 1981-03-20
FR2274978A2 (fr) 1976-01-09
JPS53130962A (en) 1978-11-15
ES438573A2 (es) 1977-05-16
JPS5130472A (en) 1976-03-15
GB1489926A (en) 1977-10-26
DE2526011C3 (de) 1980-07-31
DE2526011A1 (de) 1976-01-02
DE2526011B2 (de) 1979-11-15
FR2274978B2 (enExample) 1978-08-25

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